Pneumatic web removal in carding machines



Aug. 25, 1964 F. REITERER PNEUMATIC WEB REMOVAL IN CARDING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 2'7, 1961 INVENTOR. FERDINAND REITERER his A TTOEWEYS Aug. 25, 1964 F. REITERER PNEUMATIC WEB REMOVAL IN CARDING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 27. 1961 INVENTOR. FERDINAND REITERER hiS ATTORNEYS Aug. 25, 1964 F. REITERER PNEUMATIC WEB REMOVAL IN CARDING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 2'7, 1961 g mm m m w I m 47 Q I H I Q 3 Q F i M Q I A B I /l his A TTOR/VEYS United States Patent 3,145,428 PNEUMATIC WEB REMOVAL IN CARDING MACHINES Ferdinand Reiterer, Rueil-Malmaison, France, as-

signor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Whitin Machine Works, Whitinsville, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 141,132 Claims priority, application France Nov. 2, 1960 13 Claims. (Cl. 19-106) This invention relates to devices for removing a web of fibers from a carding machine and, more particularly, to a new and improved pneumatic detaching device for carding machines especially adapted to produce a clean sliver of uniformly high quality. This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending United States application Serial No. 858,463, filed December 9,

1959, for Carding Machine.

After being subjected to the carding process, the web of fibers produced by a carding machine is condensed into a rope-like structure called sliver which is, in turn, stretched and twisted and eventually spun into yarn. It is important to these further operations that the fiber in the web have the greatest possible degree of alignment and that very short fibers be eliminated from the web. The vibrating comb arrangements customarily provided in carding machines to assist in removal of the web, however, tend to disrupt the alignment of the fibers and, in addition, they do not separate any of the very short fibers from the web. Moreover, they are limited in speed of operation so that the output rate of the carding machine is correspondingly restricted.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved arrangement for removing a web of fibers from a carding machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a web detaching arrangement capable of maintaining and improving the alignment of the fibers in the Web.

A further object of the invention is to provide a web detaching arrangement arranged to eliminate dust and very short fibers from the Web.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of the above character capable of stretching the web removed from the carding machine to a regulated degree.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing, in conjunction with a carding machine cylinder having a perforated outer wall and an internal air pressure duct to provide an air blast directed outwardly through the wall, a pair of detaching rollers positioned adjacent to the carding machine cylinder at the point of emergence of the air blast. At least one of the detaching rollers is hollow and has a perforated outer wall so that the blast of air from the carding machine cylinder passes through it, a collecting hood being positioned outside of this roller to receive the air blast and the short fibers and dust carried by the air.

Preferably, the arrangement also includes a device for producing an auxiliary blast of air directed tangentially to the carding machine cylinder and opposite to the motion of the cylinder surface toward the space between the cylinder and the detaching rollers. In one embodiment, this device comprises a hood arranged to deflect a portion of the air blast from the interior of the cylinder in the tangential direction While, in another arrange- 3,145,428 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 ice ment, a separate external air pressure duct is provided. Moreover, in one form or detaching arrangement the primary detaching roller, about which the web passes as it leaves the carding machine cylinder, may be the hollow and perforated roller and there may be two secondary irnperforate detaching rollers spaced along the periphcry of the primary detaching roller at a distance selected in accordance with the length of the short fibers to be removed from the web.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a representative embodiment of the invention utilizing a separate external air pressure duct for the tangential air blast;

FIG. 2 is a view in cross-section of another form of the detaching arrangement wherein a hood is provided to deflect the internal air blast to the tangential direction outside the carding machine cylinder; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of the invention including two secondary detaching rollers having an adjustable separation.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, the perforated outer wall 1 of a hollow carding machine cylinder la such as a dofler cylinder, turning in the direction indicated by the arrow F, carries a toothed clothing 2 which is of the usual type except that the base of the clothing has apertures 2a permitting air to pass through it. Within the hollow cylinder 1a there is a stationary air pressure duct 3 directing air outwardly through the perforated wall 1 and theapertures 2a, as indicated by the arrows F In order to remove a web of fibers 4 from the teeth of the clothing 2, the apparatus includes an imperforate primary detaching roller 5 mounted adjacent to the clothing 2 and rotating in the direction of arrow F along with an adjacent secondary detaching roller 6 which is hollow and perforated and turns in the direction of the arrow F The secondary roller 6 is positioned closely adjacent to the primary roller 5 so that the web of fibers 4 which passes between them is engaged by both rollers, the point of tangency of two rollers being in a direct line from the internal air pressure duct 3 as shown in the drawing. Preferably, the secondary detaching roller 6, which is spaced from the clothing 2 to provide an air passageway tangential to the clothing, has a smaller diameter than the primary roller 5.

In addition, the detaching arrangement includes a collecting hood 7 mounted beyond the secondary roller 6 with respect to the path of air flow while a resilient scraper 8, made of rubber or the like, engages the surface of the taching the fiber web and to remove any fibers which may cling to the clothing 2, an auxiliary air blast tangential to the clothing is provided. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a tube 9, mounted at a location above the detaching rollers, as viewed in the drawings, and extending the length of the cylinder has an outlet opening 10 in its side wall directed toward-the space between the secondary roller 6 and the clothing 2 so that air passes tangentially along the clothing opposite to the direction of motion of the clothing.

In operation, with the cylinder in and the detaching rollers and 6 turning in the direction of the arrows F, F and F respectively, and air passing outwardly from the duct 3 and downwardly from the duct 9 as represented by the arrows F and F respectively, the web 4 of fibers carried by the clothing 2 is lifted by the air blast from the duct 3 away from the points of the clothing teeth and rg d a ins t e ur ac o t e o ler 5- y tendency of the web to follow along with the clothing past the detaching rollers is overcome by the tangential air blast from the duct 9 and, at thesame time, this blast removes from the teeth of the clothing any fibers which may be carried past the air current from the duct 3 and returns them to the fiber web. I

As it passes against the web 4, the air current from the duct 3 removes dust and extracts those fibers which are short enough so that they are not held either by the teeth ofthe clothing 2 or between the rollers 5 and 6 and carries them through the perforated roller 6 into the hood '7, as indicated by the arrows F Moreover, because the air current passes lengthwise of the fiber web, it tends to align the fibers as it moves along them.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2 is similar to that of FIG. 1 but it requires an enlarged in ternal air pressure duct 3a, the external air duct 5! being replaced by a hood 12 arranged to deflect air from the duct 3a tangentially along the clothing 2. .Except for t lflsc parts, the operation and structure of this embodiment is the same as that described above with respect to FIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the hood 12 includes a movable deflecting vane 14 mounted on a shaft 15 and arranged to divide the hood opening into an intake aperture 11, which intercepts air from the upper portion of the air duct 3a, and an outlet aperture 13, positioned to direct air from the hood between the clothing 2 and the roller 6. As a result, air from the internal duct 3a not only passes against the web 4 of fibersand through the perforated detaching roller 6 in the manner previously described but, in addition, it passes into the hood intake aperture 11, around the vane 14 and out of the aperture 13 along a path leading between the perforated roller and the cylinder clothing. By adjusting the angular position of the vane 14, the volume of air directed into this path may be varied.

In another form of web-detching apparatus, illustrated in FIG. 3, the primary detaching roller 6a is hollow and perforated and has an internal deflector 16 mounted inside it whiletwo imperforate secondary rollers 5a and 17 are spaced along the periphery of the primary roller. In order to vary the separation betweenthe two secondary rolers and, consequently, the distance between their points of contact A and B with the primary roller 6a,'the roller 17 has an adjustable mounting 18. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, this detaching arrangement includes a deflecting hood 12 having a movable vane 14 to direct air past the secondary roller 5a and tangentially to the clothing 2. No roller scraping device is required in this embodiment since the dust and fibers are blown away from the perforated detaching roller rather than through it. The deflector 16 within the primary roller 6a has a curved surface shaped to receive air from the pressure ductfia and the deflecting hood 12 and direct it upwardly secondary rollers 5a and 17, the length of the short fibers which are removed from the web canbe varied. In addition, since the blast of air passes through'the web twice, dust and small fibers are removed even more completely than in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Furthermore, selective stretching of the fiber web can be accomplished by appropriate adjustment of the relative rates of rotation of the cylinder 1a and the detaching rollers.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to specific embodiments, many modifications and variations therein will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, all such variations and modifications are included within the intended scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for detaching a web of fibers from a hollow web-carrying rotary cylinder in a fiber processing machine having a perforated outer Wall and including means within the cylinder for directing an air blast outwardly through the perforated wall comprising a primary detaching roller adjacent to the cylinder and adapted to turn in the direction opposite to that of the cylinder so as to carry a fiber web which passes between it and the.

cylinder away from the cylinder, and at least on secondary detaching roller spaced from the cylinder and adpacent to the primary roller at a location in the path of the air blast from the cylinder so as to receive the web of fibers between itself and the primary detaching roller, one of the primary and secondary detaching rollers being hollow and perforated to permit the air blast to carry dust and short fibers away from the Web.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a collecting hood-located in the path of the air current beyond the primary and secondary detaching rollers.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for producing an auxiliary air blast directed tangentially to the outer surface of the cylinder in the direction opposite to the direction of motion of the cylinder surface and toward the space between the secondary detaching roller and the cylinder surface. A

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the means for producing an auxiliary air blast comprises an air duct adjacent to the cylinder and the secondary detaching roller having an outlet opening facing toward the space between the cylinder and the secondary roller.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the means for producing an auxiliary air blast comprises air dcflecting means having an inlet openingpositioned to receive a portion of the air blast directed outwardly from within the cylinder and an outlet opening to direct the air blast tangentially to the cylinder surface.

6. Apparatus according'to claim 1 wherein the secondary detaching roller is perforated and the collecting hood is positioned adjacent to the secondary roller to receive the air blast passing through it.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 including means for scraping the surface of the secondary roller to remove any dust and fibers adhering to it.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the primary detaching roller is perforated and the secondary detaching roller is imperforate and including deflecting means within the primary detaching roller shaped to deflect the blast of air outwardly through the web of fibers carried by the primary detaching roller.

9. Apparatus for detaching a web of fibers from a hollow web-carrying rotary cylinder in a fiber processing machine having a perforatedouter wall and including means Within the cylinder for directing an air blast outwardlythrongh the perforated wall comprising a hollow perforated primary detaching roller adjacent to the cylinderand in the path of the air blast adapted toturn in the direction opposite to that of the cylinder so as to carry a fiber web which passes between it and the cylinder away from the cylinder, and a pair of imperforate secondary detaching rollers adjacent to the primary de; taching roller at locations spaced along its outer surface and spaced from the cylinder, at least one of the secondary rollers and the space between the secondary rollers being in the path of the air blast from the cylinder.

10. Apparatus according to claim '9 including deflecting means mounted within the primary roller for deflecting the air blast between the pair of secondary rollers.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9 including means for adjusting the location of one of the secondary rollers with respect to the other along the outside surface of the primary roller.

12. Apparatus according to claim 9 including collecting hood means located in the path of the air blast beyond the pair of secondary rollers.

13. Apparatus according to claim 9 including means for producing an auxiliary air blast directed tangentially to the outer surface of the cylinder in the direction opposite to the direction of motion of the cylinder surface and toward the space between the cylinder surface and the secondary detaching rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 1,217,800 France Dec. 14, 1959 

1. APPARATUS FOR DETACHING A WEB OF FIBERS FROM A HOLLOW WEB-CARRYING ROTARY CYLINDER IN A FIBER PROCESSING MACHINE HAVING A PERFORATED OUTER WALL AND INCLUDING MEANS WITHIN THE CYLINDER FOR DIRECTING AN AIR BLAST OUTWARDLY THROUGH THE PERFORATED WALL COMPRISING A PRIMARY DETACHING ROLLER ADJACENT TO THE CYLINDER AND ADAPTED TO TURN IN THE DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THAT OF THE CYLINDER SO AS TO CARRY A FIBER WEB WHICH PASSES BETWEEN IT AND THE CYLINDER AWAY FROM THE CYLINDER, AND AT LEAST ON SEC- 